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martyr Saddam Hussein |
12:28pm, Jan 7th 2007 Blog viewed 1052 times |
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"If you compare the results to the objectives the U.S. claimed to realize, whether it was democracy or control of the region, their policies have evidently failed," said Nawaf Kabbara, professor of political science at Balamand University in Beirut, Lebanon. "They were not able to spread democracy, control anything or make any serious breakthrough. It is a failure on all levels." For those Arabs who celebrated America's embrace of the rule of law, the quick execution, coming before the conclusion of other trials against Hussein for crimes against humanity, left a bitter taste of stolen justice. Even Hussein's staunchest enemies expressed a sense of bitterness at the end. "It is evident that they were not after justice," said Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut. "It was a political decision, because as soon as they got a sentence on him they executed him. What mattered was his death rather than finding justice." For those distrustful or disdainful of American intentions, the notion that the execution fell on Id al-Adha, one of the holiest holidays of the year, seemed to symbolize the triumph of vengeance over justice. "It looks like they just wanted to take revenge in a vulgar way; that was their gift to the Shia for the feast," said Khalid al-Dakhil, assistant professor of political sociology at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, referring to Shiites, who were oppressed under Hussein and now control Iraq. "Bush and al-Maliki thought they could benefit from this," he added, referring to President Bush and Iraq Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, "but this is going to backfire. Saddam's execution is going to feed sectarianism and contribute to more bloodshed." Id al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice, is ultimately a commemoration of the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael for God; instead he slaughtered a goat, and Muslims today slaughter goats, sheep and even camels to re-enact the event. As the blood of slaughtered sheep stained the streets of many Arab cities on Saturday, however, many found it hard to ignore the analogy of Hussein himself as a sacrificial lamb. "Executing the martyr Saddam Hussein on the first day of Adha in one of the holiest months of the year is meant to defy the feeling of Muslims, to invoke sectarian strife and to confirm that Bush's policy as vindictive and aggressive," said a statement by the union of the Islamist-dominated professional associations union in Amman, Jordan. "The phony slogans about freedom and democracy are fake," the statement continued. "The professional associations mourn the death of the hero, the martyr Saddam Hussein, and stress that the day of liberating Iraq is near." Many in the region seemed to view the execution as a harbinger of further sectarian conflict. This was the first time in modern history that a Sunni dictator was executed by a Shiite, some analysts noted, a symbolic step that is widely expected to incur Sunni retribution throughout the region. American embassies throughout the region warned citizens Saturday to avoid protests and be prepared for unrest. Ultimately, many reform-minded Arabs lamented the lost opportunity that was at the heart of the American initiative in the region. "The Iraqi government did not use Saddam's trial to set an example of how a dictator should be tried," said a Saudi analyst, Adel al-Toraifi. "They didn't set standards that could be used later in trying other dictators." |
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8:20pm, Jan 07 2007 |
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My fucking ass he is a martyer! Get real that slob killed millions of people thank god he is dead! If you believe he is a martyer u need to re think yourself! |
haley |
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